The Shadow of Vendicare
by BermudaVeckenschtein
Summary: Where does a story really start? Does it start at a persons birth? At the first tradegy? At their first memory? Or does it start when every thing chages? Does it matter? He really couldn't tell you about his birth as his mind holds no memories of such a time before
1. Chapter 1

_Where does a story really start?_

 _Does it start at a persons birth? At the first tradegy? At their first memory? Or does it start when every thing chages? Does it matter?_

 _He really couldn't tell you about his birth as his mind holds no memories of such a time before the cupboard under the stairs with walrus like man- who's face would turn purple as he shouted and blamed Freak for anything and everything that went wrong in their lives- and a horse like woman- who hit him with frying pan or burned his fingers on the stove for the slightest of issues- that had a pig for a son._  
 _The only thing he knew about the first tradegy was second hand knowledge he spent years doubting- never quite knowing if they had spoken the truth or had it just been another lie to futher break him?_

 _His first memory..._

 _It wasn't one of happiness._

 _It wasn't one of friends and family nor of love in care. In fact, it was the exact opposite._ _His first memory was the darkness of the cupboard- or better known as Freak's room- being pierced by a bright light as the door was flung open._

 _He had closed his eyes- as the light had blinded him- therefore he never saw the meaty hand that reached in to roughly grab his hair and drag him out by it. When he opened them, Walrus' purple face had greeted him as the other shouted- spit splattering everywhere- before the beating that had broken his arm and several over bones due to his 'freakiness' causing Pig to fall off a swing and scrape his knees. Freak didn't do it, but they didn't believe him. Back then, no one did._  
 _As for when everything changed..._ _It all changed when Freak died._

 _No, that's not quite right. Freak didn't die._

 _He was murdered._

It started out a normal enough day or as normal as it got in this house.

He cooked, he cleaned, he gardened and then he starved as he stood in a corner watching Horse and Pig devour his hard work- _Like always, they ensured there wasn't even so much as a piece of crumb left behind-_ before leaving him to clean up the mess. Honestly, it was like cleaning a war zone. Pig had somehow managed to get scraps everywhere: _from hanging off the ceiling fan like confetti to grinded into cracks on the floor._

After he had finished cleaning that disaster and prepping dinner, he had been banished back to the cupboard. For a while it was quiet as Horse took Pig somewhere for hours on end. Then Walrus returned home smelling as though he had drunken a whole bar dry- _and maybe he had-_ with a fouler temper than normal and a single target in mind.

Freak didn't really understand much. He was rather simple- _uneducated-_ back then but judging from Walrus shouting as he dragged out of his cupboard by a meaty fist in his hair: _Walrus had been passed up for some type of promotion and was now going through a company audit_ that somehow was due to his _'freakiness'._

As Freak soon learned, excessive alcohol and a hairline tempter like Walrus' didn't mix well. Especially for him. He had endured beatings before but there was something different this time- _something primal, something dangerous in those beady eyes-_ that told him if Walrus had his way; Freak would not be getting up again.

In a way, he didn't.

Freak had blacked out sometime in the beating- _probably when Walrus had been trying to kick his internal organs out of him-_ though when he woke again it was inside what appeared to be a wet blanket of some sort that felt as though it was being dragged over one of the few brick roads that had yet to be paved over with asphalt.

He panicked.

It wasn't his smartest idea seeing the condition he was in- _just breathing hurt and he was certain his right arm alongside several ribs was broken-_ for the moment he started kicking, black dots appeared in his vision as the feeling of being set on fire from the inside out consumed him. It hurt, everything hurt if he was honest, but he wanted- _needed-_ to be out of that blanket before walrus attempted to suffocate him again. Had he not been panicking, he might have realized the other hands- _that had joined his own in an attempt at prying at the covers_ \- were too small to be Walrus' though as it was he didn't quite register the fact until the sunlight suddenly blinded him as the dark covered was untangled enough for his head to be freed from its confinement.

When the white spots faded from his vision the first thing Freak saw was a child- _maybe a year or two older then himself-_ with pale skin, pitch black hair and soulless black eyes. For a moment, all the two did was stare at each other- h _is emerald eyes unable to pry theirselves from the older child even if he wanted to-_ both clearly surprised to see the other.

A thick silence filled the air between the two until the other child seemed to gain his bearings before small hands- _too small to be walrus' now that he paid attention-_ once more attempted more of the wet blanket away from Freak. Freak, himself, didn't move a muscle as his eyes managed to glance past the other child and at the street surrounding them. There was something... off about this place.

In all honestly, it looked as though he had taken a step back in time and into one of Pig's history books that the other would throw in a corner and leave to collect dust while he played whatever new game system Horse and Walrus bought him. Maybe had he more time to think upon it, he might have figured out the truth sooner then later but as it was; Freak fount his ponderings cut short as a pair of fingers snapped in front of his face forcing his mind back down to Earth.

"Hallo, jemand da? "

Blinking in confusion, all he could do was stare at the other child- _for while the language sounded familiar, Freak felt as though he had heard that language before though he himself could not understand what the other was saying, let alone actually respond to it_ \- as the older child frowned upon realizing he could not understand him.

"Pouvez-vous me comprendre maintenant?"

Those soulless eyes narrowed slightly as they seemed to look him over before the older tried again, "Can you understand me now?"

Slowly, Freak nodded as he forced himself to speak up despite how sore and hoarse his throat felt, "Yes."

"I suppose that's a start. Do you have a name?"

"Freak."

It must be the wrong answer for the other child gives him a look as though he was attempting to look into his very soul for some sort of divine judgement. He must have passed it as the other nodded, mumbling to himself too softly for even Freak to overhear before speaking aloud, "Freak isn't a suitable name."

"Its all I have," He had answered honestly- _If he had another name, he did not know it as they had never thought fit to call him anything else but 'Freak' and 'Boy'-_ causing a scowl to reappear on the others face as those black soulless eyes gleamed with ill intent.

"Not anymore, " The slightly taller boy had spoken as a pale hand darted out and gripped his boney wrist in a vice hold, "From this day forward, I christen you: Jager. And in doing so claim your life as mine."

For a moment, all the newly christened; Jager could do is blink at the other in open confused- _he doesn't understand what just happened_ _and to be honest, he's not sure he wants to know-_ though the older didn't seem to notice the doubt within the younger's emerald eyes as he kept speaking, "My name is Bermuda. Bermuda von Veckenschtein, when you address me it shall be as Lord Bermuda. So now that has been dealt with, how did you end up wrapped within a quilt floating down the river?"

* * *

When he had saw what he the bundle floating down the river, Bermuda honestly hadn't thought much about it.

It wasn't all that uncommon for passing ships to sometimes lose merchandise to the currents- _it happened so often around this area that there was a Finder's Keeper's Rule to any and all packages one happened to stumble across-_ which would then carry it down the river and into the ocean. If anything, Bermuda had retrieved the bundle with the thoughts of dragging it home and seeing wither or not there was anything interesting inside.

 _Maybe,_ a childish part of him had whispered, _there was something from the other land masses; a lost treasure from the unknown places of the world._ A crown, a scepter, a pirate's lost treasure map, gold coin and jewels, foreign fruits and vegetables, fabrics of silk and velvet, maybe even books. Honestly, anything was possible as just last week Edeltraut had fount a chest floating in the river that held priceless gemstones which originated from some place to the far East.

Bermuda had been ready for anything and everything to be inside his newly discovered treasure or so he thought. He hadn't quite been ready for said bundle to kick him as he dragged it towards Veckenschtein Manor. For a moment, the dark eyed child of six summers had stilled as he stared at the now very alive bundle which seemed to be struggling with itself before his mind had kicked in and his hands joined in the attempt to pry the dark fabric whatever was inside.

 _Maybe it was a lion, a tiger, some exotic pet or animal that the traders were crating towards its new home. Maybe it was a panther? If so, Bermuda wanted it to be a cub so that he could raise it._ _He could feel the excitement building in his chest as he already imaged himself raising the deadly creature into what he considered a perfect complain only for it to freeze as he finally managed to pry the quilt off the creatures head._

 _That was no animal._

For a moment all Bermuda could do was stare at the pale child- _that looked even younger then him-_ with raven black hair and the most exotic emerald eyes the older boy had ever seen. It took some effort to pry his eyes away from the youngers' as his mind registered the ugly purple-blue-black bruises on the younger's skin and the right arm hanging a little too limp for his liking. That alone all but suffocate the excitement the dark eyed child had been feeling as his mind drew up a nasty conclusion.

 _After all, how else does one interrupt a hurt child- probably two or three judging from his size- trapped inside a heavy blanket that was thrown into a river known for its fast currents and the dangerous- known to be fatal- drop where it entered the ocean?_

The younger didn't move as he worked and the more Bermuda freed the younger, the more he doubted the other could as he noticed the dark stain upon the other's shirt. Bruising, broken arm, most likely broken ribs as well seeing how the younger's good arm stayed near them, busted lip, black eye, heavy breathing- _though seeing how he wasn't coughing up blood, Bermuda doubted his lungs had been pierced_ \- bloody clothes...

The boy was too pretty to be one of the streets- _children with looks like that were noticed rather quickly upon the streets. None of them lasted longer then a year or two before they were taken and not always with the best of intentions._

He had far too many features only fount in a Noble's lineage so he was likely an Foreign Lord's Bastard Child with a Mistress. _Had the Lord died and the wife finally done away with completion or had he grown tired of keeping his mistake around and attempted to wipe it from the world?_ There was only one real way to know though as Fate would have it, the child understood not a word of either German or French.

Still those features were defiantly European so Bermuda tried the next language he could think of: English.

"Can you understand me now?"

"Yes." Despite his hesitance the boy had understood him. _Thank God. Had the other not understood that, Bermuda wouldn't have known what to do seeing as he only spoke those three languages._

 _Freak._

The child's name was Freak.

He wants to hit something but Bermuda keeps his temper despite knowing his eyes could give away his intentions. At this point, Bermuda has made up his mind: _This Child is **never** going back home. _He would not allow it.

"Not anymore," His hand darts out gripping the younger's too small wrist in a vice hold just in case the other doesn't take his next words well, "From this day forward, I christen you: Jager. And in doing so claim your life as mine."

He must have stunned the younger for all the other does it blink those unique eyes in open confusion so the elder of the two plows forward while he can, "My name is Bermuda. Bermuda von Veckenschtein, when you address me it shall be as Lord Bermuda. So now that has been dealt with, how did you end up wrapped within a quilt floating down the river?"

For a moment, there is a thick silence between the two before the newly named Jager speaks softly, "I don't know. I...I... I think my Uncle had something to do with it."

 _Okay then, new theory:_ _Jager's Father is an Old Foreign Lord this time with no children but a brother. If Jager is the only child he stands to inherit everything, stripping it all from the brother's hold. Therefore the Brother attempted to get rid of the competition before it actually became competition._

 _Results: He's still not permitting Jager go home. One way or another, Jager would be coming with him, even if Bermuda had to drag the other kicking and screaming the whole way._

Thankfully he didn't have to drag Jager to Veckenschtein Manor. If anything the other had followed him in a daze, obviously unsure what he should do now that he was alone in a foreign land which he could not even speak the language of. _Huh, maybe Jager was just staying with him because the younger child believed Bermuda was all he had at the moment..._

Bermuda could work with that.

* * *

People disgusted him, Bermuda decided as he led the younger child- _dressed only in those strange rags and his traveling cloak-_ though the crowded streets and towards Veckenschtein Manor.

 _It shouldn't have been so easy._

Though he probably shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, Bermuda couldn't help it _\- After all, it really shouldn't have been so easy to guide Jager towards his home-_ especially when one considered the rumors surrounding Veckenschtein Manor and what went on inside its walls.

Sure, whispers had followed them down the street and one or two people had taken a step forwards as though to _'save'_ the emerald eyed child- _though they had quickly taken several steps back once soulless black eyes glanced their way-_ only to change their minds.

It disgusted him how the people of his village could be so self-absorbed they wouldn't even step forward to ' _save'_ a child _\- a toddler-_ from what they believed to be certain death. Someone- _anyone-_ should have attempted to stand up for what was right and just; yet no one did.

 _No one even tried._

 _It was probably the easiest kidnapping in history,_ Bermuda decided as he pushed open the thick oaken door and half pulled-half guided Jager into Veckenschtein Manor.

Now _.. How to explain this to his Father?_

 _ **That was the first day they meet; a strange boy dressed in clothes of another time by the name of Bermuda von Veckenschtein and a lost Freak, who would become Jager despite the doubts that constantly attempted to cloud his mind.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_In the end, he lies._

Bermuda doesn't tell his Father where Jager really came from. After all, what was he supposed to say _'I pulled him out of a river thinking he was treasure'?_ Honestly, his father would have tore his hide for going near that river and then most likely thrown Jager back into it himself.

 _Its better this way_ , he tells himself as he meets the man's cold eyes, "He's mine. I bought him from his abusive uncle when I caught the man trying to beat him to death."

 _The best lies always hold a grain of truth._ Its something his Mother once told him- _May she rest in peace-_ and it must be true as his Father's eyes soften slightly as he accepts Bermuda's falsehood for the truth. _It helps Jager doesn't understand a word he says and therefore cannot go against his claim._

Later, Bermuda promises himself, he would make it up to the younger- _After all, he was all but enslaving the other with his words alone-_ though at the moment, he just permits the younger to cling onto his arm while emerald eyes watch the interaction between him and his Father with open caution as though Jager expected the elder to suddenly reach out and attack them.

 _Then again, maybe he did._

Bermuda's father had once informed his of the savage of the distance lands and how those from the Fatherland were blessed. At the time, the dark eyed child had believed they were just words meant to dissuade him from ever wanting to visit those other lands but if they weren't _\- seeing as Bermuda had fount Jager wrapped in a blanket and thrown in a river that would have he not mistaken the package and rescued him before he reached the hazard zone..._

 _Well,_ Bermuda thought to himself as he tightened his hold upon the others hand and made his excuse to pardon himself and the younger child, _he would have to work with Jager on the issue._

A soft sigh left the black eyed child as he guided the younger up the stairway and towards his bedroom. No doubt Jager would have plenty of issues for Bermuda to work through but some would take time. Therefore- _for the moment-_ he would deal with the ones he could such as ensuring the younger had a proper bath, warm food to eat, bandaging his wounds and supplying proper clothes.

 _After all, while Jager was no panther, Bermuda now owned him and nothing of his would go around broken and dressed in rags._

* * *

If Jager is honest, there's something about Lord Veckenschtein- _as Bermuda said to call him-_ that unnerved the emerald eyed four year old.

He couldn't really explain it if asked- _for all intentions he had just meet the man. It wouldn't be fair to form an opinion without knowing him_ \- but the small voice softly whispering in the back of his head warned him against such a thing. It didn't want him alone with the man long enough to speak a sentence. let alone get to know him and if nothing else Jager had learned _\- the hard way-_ the voice was usually right.

So he keeps close to Bermuda- _he didn't know why but his instincts and the voice both seemed to agree the older child was safety-_ while keeping his silence as he permits the older boy to guide him up the stairs despite the pain in his chest as every step he takes upset his broken ribs.

 _All the while, trying to pretend he doesn't feel Lord Veckenschtein's glacier cold eyes following their every move._

Bermuda doesn't release his hand until Jager finds himself standing inside what must be the other boy's bedroom- _there's not really much there a large bed, a wooden bookshelf filled with assorted tomes, a small desk in the corner of the room with a half melted candlestick resting upon it next to what appeared to be a feather pen of some sort, and a few small things here and there-_ before the soulless eyed boy give him a pointed look _,_ "Don't leave this room, Jager. I need to tell one of the Servants to bring water so we can clean you up."

Its clear the other expects to be obey and to be honest, Jager wasn't quite sure where he would go was he given the opportunity, so he just nods in agreement while shifting slightly on his heels. Soulless black eyes stared into emerald a moment longer before Bermuda gave a firm nod, gently ruffled the younger's hair and headed for the door.

When Bermuda returns with a woman carrying a wooden pale, Jager cannot help but observe them as they empty it within an old fashioned tub within a side room. Only when its halfway full does the older boy seem satisfied as he speaks in his strange language towards the blond haired woman who speaks the same language in rapid fire before leaving the room.

"Jager, come here. We need to get you out of those rags. "

The water's like ice, but Jager finds he doesn't mind as it soothes the aches and throbbing of his bruised- _and broken-_ body as gentle hands scrub at the blood staining his skin. _Its relaxing,_ Jager discovers as his mind seems to drift in a dense fog and his eyelids slowly close theirselves.

To be honest, it took Bermuda a moment to realize Jager had fallen asleep on him- _though he's not all that surprised, the other had went through a great deal today and for who knew how long. This was probably the first time he ever had a chance to relax-_ but it doesn't bother the older child as he shakes his head and continues attempting to scrub the blood off the other's pale skin.

 _It was probably best this way_ , Bermuda decides as he eyes the younger's broken- _shattered and dislocated-_ arm. Fixing it would be much easier for the both of them with Jager asleep rather than awake.

* * *

He was like a puppy.

 _A foreign, broken and very confused puppy,_ Bermuda decided as he forced the other to sit down next to him and piled food upon the younger's plate in order to curb his sudden urge to break something- _hopefully, Jager's old family_ \- in a fit of justified rage.

It was bad enough Jager had insisted he didn't deserve Bermuda's old clothes from his younger days and that _'Freaks weren't allowed to sleep in beds like normal people'_ but to deny someone food when their had been an excess of it- _After all, Jager did call his Uncle 'Walrus' and his cousin 'Pig' when Bermuda attempted to ask for their names under the pretense of learning a bit more about the younger. In all honestly, he had been wondering could he pay someone to put a hit out on them if he had their names-_ was unforgivable.

Just thinking about it had filled Bermuda with a homicidal rage- _he had seen the condition of Jager's body the night before riddled with assorted scars and wounds-_ then to hear _'The Rules_ ' from Jager's own mouth had only seemed to solidify the reality surrounding the younger boy.

He wanted to torture and kill the bastards behind it. Epically when he realized Jager didn't even know the date _\- the other had just stared in open confusion the moment Bermuda had informed him it was August 10, 1554-_ as they hadn't even bothered to inform the younger of that.

Taking a breath- _he had to stay clam. Jager would need him to be calm and steady. Not homicidal-_ soulless black eyes focused on the younger child next to him, "Jager, I don't care what your old family told you. Discard all their rules as from now on, only mine are important and the first one of mine is that you must eat at least three meals a day. "

For a moment, emerald eyes just stare at him before the younger nods reluctantly as the younger's eyes move down onto his stacked plate as though unsure- _wither or not he could eat so much-_ of what he could take that wouldn't send the rest crashing towards the floor. _Okay, even Bermuda would admit he might had been a little overzealous in stacking the other with food._

"Start at the top, Jager. You don't have to eat it all," _He doubted the younger could even if he wanted to,_ "though I would prefer it if you ate at least a third of it. "

 _If Jager would eat at least a third of his plate every day- and Bermuda always stacked a small mountain upon it- maybe then the younger wouldn't be literal skin and bones._

* * *

 _August 10, 1554._

Jager would admit he didn't know much- _Walrus and Horse had went through a great deal to ensure of that-_ but he would like to think he knew the date and last he checked it had been December 24, 1984- _It was hard to forget that when Pig had been screaming all morning about a list of everything he currently wanted and how he expected everything and nothing less-_ so how was this possible?

"Jager," the sound of fingers snapping in his face drew the younger's attention back towards reality and in turn Bermuda, "Focus. I understand learning a new language is difficult but this is necessary seeing as few in the Deutschland speak English. Now repeat after me: _Hallo, mein Name ist Jäger."_

 _"Hallo, man name is Jager."_

"No, Jager, listen: Hallo, **mein** Name **ist** **Jäger**. Man is the English word for a male while Mein translates into _'My'_. When you say _'Mein Name'_ you are saying ' _My Name_ ' instead of _'Man Name'_. Now try again."

"Hallo, mein name ist Jäger."

A smile formed on the other's face as he nodded his head, "Perfect. Now I want you to repeat it back to me ten times and if all goes smoothly we can attempt another sentence. "

Nodding, Jager took a breath as he complied to the other's request. Honestly, every now and then he would slip- _his words slurred, mispronounced or stuttered-_ which would lead to Bermuda having him start over until he could speak the sentence smoothly.

It was difficult, but Jager didn't mind as this was the first time someone had ever taken a moment to teach him anything.

"Good. Now this next one is a bit more difficult: _Ich lebe im Veckenschtein Manor."_

* * *

"He's trailing after you again, Young Master."

Bermuda couldn't help but pause misstep as he glance upwards at the amused maid _\- Mila, if he remembered correctly-_ who was glancing past him and further down the hall. Sighing softly, the dark haired child waved his hand dismissively as he turned slightly to glance down the hallway towards the smaller child who was peaking around the edge of a doorway.

"Jager, if you're going to follow me you might as well walk besides me."

Honestly, Bermuda found himself tempted to smile as the smaller shuffled in his spot with a look on his face that reminded the elder child a lot of one who had just been caught with their hand in the Cookie Jar. Apparently he wasn't the one with such thoughts as soft giggles reached his ears, "Where did you find this one, Young Master?"

Bermuda didn't really get a chance to answer as Jager somehow managed to trip mid-step, forcing the older boy to rush forward to catch the younger before he hit the floor, "Jager, when you want to move around quickly in a house; you speed walk not run otherwise you'll end up tripping over an unsettled board and having a personal introduction with the floors."

"Sorry," the emerald eyed toddler mumbled softly as he tightened his grip upon Bermuda's arm while straightening himself out.

"Another thing, Jager, when you go to speak make sure not to mutter. Its rude and difficult to understand. "

"Sorry."

Sighing softly at the younger's mumbling, Bermuda begin to continue on his way down the hall, "We'll work on it."


	3. Chapter 3

In the Caste System that Ruled over society, Jager was a Third Class Citizen. Bermuda knew that- _he knew it all too well-_ and he knew the rules for dealing with those with a _'lesser'_ class though in his own opinion whoever invited said _Caste System_ was a fool.

According to the Laws of Society; Jager, _as a Third Class Citizen,_ was forbidden from attending school- _let alone actually learning-_ as school was **only** for those of the First and Second Class. The punishments to enforce such a rule was strict and harsh ranging from Lashing towards actually _removing_ the eyes of the guilty party depending upon the decision of the Third Class Citizen's Owner. _Ja, Owner. As far as society was concerned not a single soul who was unfortunate enough to be born a Third Class Citizen was an individual but instead considered a living extension of their Lord/Lady's Will and Resolve._

It was a stupid Law, in Bermuda's opinion, one that only managed to limit the growth of their society. _What did it matter if a Third Class Citizen actually had a brain to think for theirselves instead of following orders like mindless sheep?_ Which was why _\- despite it being two in the morning-_ The dark eyed child fount himself leaning over the back of his desk chair observing Jager's rather shaky attempts at writing.

"Jager, you need to slow down. Rushing only makes it messier than normal."

Emerald eyes darted up to meet pitch black- _and held them for a moment_ \- before the younger child gave a slight nod as he took a breath in an attempt to steady himself. _It wasn't easy, every logical part of his mind kept screaming at him that someone was going to walk in at any moment and then they would be caught. In all honesty, Jager didn't fear for himself but rather the Bermuda. If they were caught what would happen to Bermuda breaking the laws of their society?_

 _Whatever it was, Jager doubted it would be pleasant._

The feeling of a gently yet firm hand closing over his own causes emerald eyes to shoot open- _when had he even closed them-_ as the younger felt another's chest against his back.

"Calm down, Jager, before you suffer a panic attack."

 _And how exactly was he supposed to do that?_

"Take a deep breath in."

 _Had he said that out loud?_

"No, you're just as easy to read as an open book, Jager. Now Breathe in."

An open book? Surely it wasn't that easy?

"Unfortunately it is... We'll work on a poker face for you later for now: Breathe."

Slowly the younger of the two took a deep breath inwards until his lungs felt as though they were going to explode from an excess amount of oxygen.

"Now out. "

He slumped against Bermuda's chest as his lungs were stripped of the overflow of oxygen.

"Now I want you to repeat it until your heart is no longer attempting to jump from your chest. "

* * *

 **THUMP!**

 _The floor- it seemed- was rapidly becoming his best friend._

"Jager, get up."

If he was honest, he _really_ didn't want to. Everything hurt and his body felt as heavy as led yet the emerald eyed child couldn't bring himself to stay down. _Bermuda was counting on him, if he stayed down he would be letting the other down._ So it was with a great effort the younger child pushed himself onto his hands and knees- only to be knocked right back down at a foot collided with his ribs.

 **"Faster, Jager!"**

 _Bermuda was a slave driver,_ Jager decided as his eyes darted upwards meeting the pitch black ones that stared down like an empty void. Its only because he's looking upwards, that the younger child sees the foot coming back for his ribs and manages to just push against the ground- _throwing himself out of the other's reach._

He must have done something right as for a brief _-had he blinked, Jager had no doubt he would have missed it-_ satisfied smile appears on Bermuda's face only to disappear a moment.

"An enemy won't wait for you to collect your baring Jager therefore neither will I."

The other flicks his wrist and a moment later there's a knife coming directly at his face- _Father above, he officially hated Bermuda's version of 'Self defense lessons'-_ without a thought, Jager allowed his body to go lax on the ground causing the knife to miss his face- _by less then a centimeter. Gods above, Bermuda was a sadist_ \- instead severing strands of his hair.

The knife had just connect with the wooden floors- _a soft thud filling the air_ \- before Jager finds himself at the wrong end of several more; _by some miracle,_ the emerald eyed child manages to scramble to his feet and throw himself aside as the blade connected to were he once laid.

Somehow their 'Self Defense' lessons turn into a 'try to avoid becoming a porcupine via Bermuda's knives' lesson. Yet _\- despite the fact he knows he should be terrified-_ Jager finds it difficult not to smile.

 _He hurts- everything hurts- yet somehow Jager finds he feels satisfied when Bermuda grants him a soft smile, while ruffling his hair and telling him 'You did well'. Its the first time anyone has ever told him such a thing and the emerald eyed child finds he enjoys the sense of unspoken acknowledgement that comes with those words._

* * *

 _"There are many things one must be aware of when serving a Lord or Lady, Jager. The First and Most Important is the fact: The You are no longer an individual but a living extension of Lord Bermuda's Will and Resolve. You are Lord Bermuda's Sword and Shield, His First and LAST defense. Once they get pass you; This is no more Lord Bermuda but a corpse."_

"Jager?"

"Yes Bermuda?"

"Get out from under my bed," the ebony haired child couldn't help but deadpanned as emerald eyes stared at him from the darkness with a firm resolve.

"But," the younger seemed hesitant to obey as concern colored his tone, "What if someone attempts to attack you in your sleep?"

Another sigh left the older child, "No one is going to attack me in my bed, Jager."

"We don't know that," The younger insisted stubbornly as a scowl- _though in Bermuda's honest opinion looked more like a pout-_ formed upon the younger's face," What if they do and I'm not here to stop them?"

 _He was going to kill whoever was putting this nonsense into the younger's head._

"Jager, I would like to hope if someone comes at you with a knife, you wouldn't run towards them."

"Oh course I wouldn't," The younger stated with an insulted look towards the dark eyed child who raised a brow, "Yet you would run at them if they came at me?"

"Yes."

 _Gods above. Forget killing, Bermuda was going to torture- in the slowest and most agonizing ways he could think of- whoever was behind filling Jager's head with this stupidity._

"No, Jager. No matter what, you do not charge someone who's holding a knife."

"But-"

"Jager, do you not trust me?" It was a low blow and Bermuda knew it yet he also knew how stubborn the younger could be once he set his mind to something. Emerald eyes widened in panic as the younger scrambled to reassure the older and wipe away any doubts that may be creeping into the other's mind.

"Of course I trust you!"

Crossing his arms across his chest, Bermuda granted the other his best skeptical look, "Then do you believe me to weak to protect myself?"

"Of course not!" Jager knew better to allow such blasphemy to cross his mind. _After all, Bermuda literally beat him into the ground every time the older attempted to teach him self defense or how to fight. Despite his best efforts, the emerald eyed child still couldn't land a hit on the other._

"Then get out from underneath my bed."

Honestly, the defeated expression upon the other's face as he crawled out from under the bed and slumped at the foot of it made Bermuda feel as though he had just kicked a puppy left out in a thunderstorm. _Still he had to be firm,_ Bermuda told himself, _Bad habits had to be nipped in the bud before they had time to fester into something more- something dangerous- and willingly throwing yourself on someone's knife was a prime example of a 'bad habit' in the dark eyed child's opinion._

* * *

 _It was an accident. He didn't mean to do it._

 _H_ e doesn't know how he did it. Yet he did, the undeniable proof lies at the foot of a tree staring blankly into the sky with void- _oh so empty_ \- blue eyes.

He doesn't know what to do so he does nothing, just standing there staring at the blond haired, blue eyed teenager who moments before had been so full of life _-even while he attempted to beat the very life out of him for some make-believe slight against First Class Heir-_ as though it would somehow undo what he's done.

 _It won't._

 _"Jager," He looks upwards slowly upon hearing the voice only to find himself staring at wide ebony black eyes that slowly move from him to the body and back, "What did you do?"_

 _"I-" his voice dies as_ he's filled with the urge to run- _there was nothing more he wanted in that moment to just run away from both his actions and Bermuda's stare that all but screams the older already knows what he's done-_ but he's rooted to the ground, "I don't know."

Its the truth.

Jager knows the results of what he's done _\- he cannot overlook it even if he wanted to_ \- but he doesn't know how he did it. _All he had done was flung an arm out at the other who had been raising a pipe to smash against his head- he hadn't even touched him- yet the blond haired boy had been flung back like a ragdoll and landed with a rather sickening crack that stole any life in the other's eyes._

"I don't know," He repeats the words like a mantra- _unable to bring himself to focus on reality around him-_ until his head is forced to the side with a loud **smack** as the only other person in the area slaps him hard enough for the emerald eyed child to see dots dancing in his vision. Then there are warm arms wrapped around his frame _\- as though to shelter him-_ as a soft voice whispers reassuringly in his ear.

"Its okay, Jager. I'll make it better. I'll make it **all** better."

He believes him.

 _After all, Bermuda has never lied to him before so he can't see the elder boy starting now. Slowly, he wraps his own arms around the other- clinging as though the dark eyed child was a lifeline- as he buries his face into the other's shirt despite knowing he shouldn't. He was a third class, it wasn't his place to touch a First Class, but he's already killed one so he might as well._

Over the next few weeks, Jager expects someone to show- _after all, he had killed and broken a sacred law in their society. They would come if only to torture and kill him for it-_ but no one ever does. For that matter, no one ever finds the blonde's body - _leaving even Jager wondering exactly what Bermuda had done with it though he never asks-_ which eventually starts an outcry of rumors ranging from the boy running away to being kidnaped by the Fae.

Bermuda keeps his silence and therefore so does Jager.

* * *

He's never liked Elias, if Bermuda is honest.

So its rather easy for him to dispose of the body _\- chopping it into such fine pieces no one- not even his Father-_ would be capable of putting the other back together before scattering said pieces around the forest for the woodland animals to devour.

Hell, it was easy for him to overlook the fact Jager had killed the blond- _though he still held concerns for the emerald eyed boys mental state-_ and in all honestly wouldn't have cared in the least had it not been for how Jager had killed him.

After all- _according to the church_ \- Magic was a Sin.

Had a priest- _or any of the villagers witnessed the crime-_ Bermuda had no doubt Jager would have fount himself burning at a stake before the younger even knew what happened. Had his Father- or those of similar opinion concerning the forbidden topic, stumbled across the incident; Bermuda had no doubt he would have fount the younger boy dissected- _and without an ounce of blood or a single organ inside him-_ on one of the alters his Father kept in the basement for his rituals.

 _The Gods had been favoring Jager,_ Bermuda supposed, _that it was him who stumbled across the younger as anyone else doing so would have led to the other's rather agonizing death._ Still that left the dark eyed child with one little problem:

 _How was he to prevent Jager from using his Magic again when the other wasn't even aware he had it?_


	4. Chapter 4

_**WolfGirl01:** I have to admit that would be amusing to see in a horrify 'Oh God They Finally Meet' sort of way. I could see both Vongola and the Vindice working exceptional hard to prevent that from ever happening only for them to accidently meet making all their efforts to that point futile. _

**_bunny nami:_** _Harry never did have a concept of time as to him time had little to no real meaning in a cupboard, he never went to school or had any education and when doing 'chores' the end results were always the same even if he finished on or before his time limit was up. The only reason he even knew the holidays and years was due to Dudley's constant complaints._

 _As for Jager... He's still hopeless with time and could easily go through a week without realizing so much as a hour has passed. Thankfully, he had Bermuda and the other servants in Veckenschtein Manor to prevent such things from happening often._

 _ **BlueAutum12:** That'll be explained further into the story so no spoilers until then. I noticed but thank you for pointing it out. _

**Chapter 4**

 _"This is going to end horribly."_

 _"Jager, you need to think positive."_

 _"Alright, I'm_ _ **Positive**_ _this is going to end horribly."_

Bermuda understood regret just as well as he understood guilt and fear but it didn't mean he had to be happy about it when it decided to show its face. Especially when it resulted in Jager _avoiding_ _him_ like a _Plague_.

For the first week, the dark eyed child had allowed it- _choosing to watch the emerald eyed boy from a distance as he would stare at his hands in mute horror and refuse to touch anyone in obvious fear of a repeat of the 'incident'-_ but he absolutely drew the line when Jager began to isolate himself from _him_.

 _Jager was **His** , dammit._

The younger shouldn't be avoiding him- _the thought to even attempt to do so should have never clouded the other's mind-_ instead the other child should be standing just a step behind him at his right hand. If Elias wasn't dead already, Bermuda would have killed him himself for managing to worn his way into Jager's mind and fill it with doubts.

 _Jager was **His**. No one, not even the dead was allowed to twist the other away from him._ Yet that was exactly what Elias was doing- _even dead the bastard was a nuisance- but nuisances could be dealt with. Guilt and regret could be erased and fears eased._

This was an easy fix _\- something Bermuda knew he could solve-_ if only he could figure out where Jager was hiding from him now.

 _Right, so where would I be if I was a child who contemplates too much and just committed my first murder?_

If Jager was honest, he knew he shouldn't be hiding from Bermuda- _the emerald eyed child knew the soulless eyed one hated it when he disappeared without a word or reason-_ but he couldn't help himself.

He had _blood_ on his hand and no idea exactly how it had happened, so how was he supposed to prevent the next corpse laying at his feet from being Bermuda himself?

Which was why he had spent the last week avoiding the older child like a plague.

 _He had promised to keep Bermuda safe but how was he supposed to do that when he, himself, was the threat? How was he to protect Bermuda when he didn't even know what happened or why it happened? How could he stay by the other's side when. for all he knew, just touching the other could kill him?_

Had he known what the younger was thinking Bermuda would probably accuse the emerald eyed child of being ridiculous- _Bermuda had promised to make everything better and he did... Well almost everything but these doubts floating within his mind-_ Jager knows that but he still couldn't help himself.

Even if Bermuda had enslaved him- _Jager wasn't blind, he could see what was in front of him. Though strangely enough he was happier as a slave then he had even been when 'free'-_ the older was his best friend and closest companion.

He couldn't- _he wouldn't-_ risk it.

Not Bermuda.

Tightening the grip around his legs, Jager closed his eyes and rested his forehead against his knees.

 _Maybe he should leave? He didn't know how to protect Bermuda from himself but if he wasn't here... Bermuda wouldn't be in danger due to him... Right?_

 _Really, he should have known better- After all, Bermuda wasn't one to just let go of anything that was his without an all out war over it first- but he didn't otherwise Jager would have insisted everything was fine and vanished into the night instead of informing the other of his plans and reason- vainly hoping the other would understand- when the dark eyed child stumbled across his hiding place._

 _'Though I have to ask Jager, exactly how did you manage to break both your legs while sulking inside a cupboard?"_

 _Simultaneously, two sets of eyes one an unnatural emerald and the other a soulless void- glanced towards the curious maid as she set down a silver platter holding their lunch._

 _"I_ _tripped/ He fell."_

 _"On what?"_

 _After all, the last time she had looked there had been nothing to trip on in the small barren room hidden beneath the stairwell. Hell, there wasn't even enough room to stand in the cupboard! Surely no one was clumsy enough to break both of their legs in a room where they couldn't even stand._

 _"Stupidity." Both children deadpanned as they outright ignored the obvious confusion with the woman's earthy eyes._

 _Despite his excessive research, Bermuda don't stumble across a sure fire way to prevent Jager form subconsciously accessing his magic again; so the dark eyed child does what he believes to be Just:_

 _He removes anything and everything that could possible tempt the younger child into accessing his 'Gift' again. Dolls, black candles, ancient tomes, tapestries, anything that could be traced back to magic- even if it was only the slightest of connections is removed and sealed within the attic; therefore out of the emerald eyed child's reach._

 _After all- besides the basement and his Father's Bedroom- the Attic was the only other place Jager wasn't allowed access._

* * *

"Bermuda, what is this?"

A dark brow rose as soulless eyes observed the younger child stare in confusion at the pastry the elder had placed before him.

"Its a cake Jager."

"Cake?"

The youngers brows furrow as unnatural emerald eyed the plate in open suspicion _\- honestly one would think he had placed a bomb in front of the younger instead of an every day sweet-_ not for the first time, Bermuda feels something ugly _\- a burning inferno that demands he rip, tears, torture and kills whoever was behind that look-_ flares beneath his skin but quickly pushes it down.

Today was a _special day._ One he wouldn't permit anyone _\- not even himself-_ to ruin.

"Its a sweet. I just.." Taking a breath, Bermuda allowed a soft smile- _that he would deny to his dying breath should anyone else ever see or mention it_ \- to appear on his face, "I realized you've been here almost a year now and we've never celebrated your birthday so I thought I'd get you a Birthday Cake."

For a moment silence fills the room as emerald eyed finally pry theirselves from the plate in front of their owner only to dart towards the other child.

"Thank you, but-" The voice cuts itself off into a low mumble as though the younger was unsure he should even voice whatever was plaguing him now.

"But?"

 _Was there something wrong with the cake? As far as he knew Jager didn't have any allergies and everyone loved chocolate...Right?_

"Bermuda," emerald eyed glanced away from him instead focusing on the other's hands as he took a deep breath- _to likely gather his nerves-_ before glancing upwards once more with a firm resolve now shining within his open confusion.

"What's a _'Birthday'_?"

 _And just like that the ugly feeling within his chest was back tenfold._

If Jager is honest, he has no idea what he did wrong- _Maybe he shouldn't have asked but Bermuda had always told him to ask if he didn't understand anything and he would try to explain it-_ but maybe if he requested Forgiveness now that unnerving gleam would leave the older child's Soulless eyes.

"Its not enough."

"Bermuda?" Jager couldn't help but question at the other's mumble- _What wasn't enough? Forgiveness? Was there some actually truth to those rumors of the dark eyed child being capable of reading minds?-_ as he took a slight step backwards.

"Its not enough," the older child repeated, his eyes gleaming with something Jager didn't recognize yet still managed to set off every mental alarm in the younger's head. _Honestly in that exactly moment Jager was sure he was staring at a complete psychopath- the sort that befriended you before murdering you in a way that took days with a rusty axe in the shed. Had it been anyone else they probably would have done the logical thing and ran for their lives instead of taking a step closer to said 'psychopath'_.

"Ber-" the younger of the two begins to call out once more- _hoping to snap the other out of whatever madness had consumed him-_ only to be cut off as he fount the ground beneath him and staring into an expression that probably would have psyched out the Devil himself.

"Just cake isn't enough for a First Birthday, Jager."

 _Wha?_

"But Don't worry-"

 _Why were they moving towards the window?_

"-Ill make this-"

 _Wait a moment, surely Bermuda didn't mean to..._

"-A day you'll-

 _After all_ , w _eren't they on the fifth floor?_

 **"-Never forget!"**

 **"Bermuda!"**

 **Crash!**

* * *

He shouldn't be there.

If Jager is honest, he's supposed to be in bed _\- trapped within the hold of the cuddle monster that was Bermuda-_ at that moment yet sleep invaded him or rather he invaded it. Since he had been taken in by Bermuda, Nightmares had become all but a thing of the past though there were some night were they managed to creep their way back into his mind.

Tonight was one of those nights- _a faint dream a crimson hair and emerald light that matched his eyes-_ which was why he had been on his way to the kitchen- _standing within the shadows on the stairway-_ when he had saw it.

At first he didn't recognize what it was- _believing it to be but a trick of moonlight and the shadows-_ and therefore had not thought much about it as he continued down the stairwell until the smell of rotting meat reached his nose.

He knew this smell- _the pungent scent_ _mixed with a tinge of sickening sweetness_ \- he had smelt it before when accompanying Bermuda into some of the darker sides of the town:

 _The smell of a decomposing corpse._

 _For a moment, the emerald eyed child hesitates as he realizes the closer he comes to the ground floor the stronger the scent of rotting meat and cheap perfume becomes._

Had he been anyone else, Jager probably would have turned around then and there fleeing from the horror movie setting- _alone in a creepy old house with little to no lighting and slowly making his way closer to the obvious danger without so much as a stick for a weapon-_ in favor of rushing back to his bed and hiding beneath the covers where safety- _aka Bermuda-_ was.

Yet _-despite Bermuda's best attempts at drilling self preference into the younger-_ Jager never quite seemed to have caught onto that subject and easily breezed past it without a thought. Which was why instead of doing the logical thing, the emerald eyed child took a breath to calm his nerves and continued down the stairwell.

 _Honestly, he should have turned back while he had the chance._

* * *

He wakes _\- when the moon is at its highest point in the starless sky-_ to a cold room and an empty bed. The soulless eyed child is not sure why but that worries him. His bed should not be empty, someone- _a small emerald eyed child_ \- child be there but he's not.

 _Something is wrong,_ his mind whispers to him, something concerning his missing companion.

For a moment all Bermuda does is lay upon his back- _staring at his bedroom ceiling as though it held the secrets of the universe_ \- before sighing softly, "Jager, what have you gotten yourself into now?"

Silence is his only answer.

After a moment of listening to the unbearable nothingness, the dark haired child kicks off his covers before standing, slipping on his housecoat and slipping out his bedroom door to search for his missing companion.

If the silence within his room is unbearable, its damnable outside of it- _and what does that say for him that he cannot even walk anywhere alone without a sense of disease-_ without of soft steps and softer breathing of his extra shadow behind him.

Bermuda finds himself halfway down the stairwell before his smells it:

A mixture of copper, rotting meat and cheap perfume.

 _It wasn't that time of the year already was it?_ Soulless eyes dart out of the closest window taking in the Blood Moon within the sky.

 _Gods Damn it,_ a snarl leaves his lips as Bermuda quickens his pace- _jumping several steps as taking them individually would take too long_ \- in an effort to reach the emerald eyed child before he could enter the kitchens least the other suffer through an _'early retirement'_ like so many other unfortunate souls- _who witnessed too much-_ had done.

 _Later Bermuda would wonder if the Gods had cursed or blessed Jager as he finds the younger child standing within the shadows of the kitchen doorway; staring with emotionless eyes at what Bermuda knows will be the body of a 'retired' - yet not quite dead if the slight noises are to be considered- servant hanging from a post by its neck as its blood was slowly drained into a bucket waiting before._

 _A strange look of determination flashes within the younger's eyes as he begins to take a step into the kitchens but Bermuda is faster. The soulless eyed child doesn't hesitate as he swiftly wraps an arm around the younger's waist- lifting him clear off the ground. It would seem he needs to work harder on putting meat on those bones- as his other hand covers the youngers mouth before carting the emerald eyed child backwards._

 _Someone up there must be on their side as he just manages to cart Jager- who thankfully doesn't put up a struggle- into a passageway and seal it only seconds before his father storms by- holding that accursed tome and a sharp ritual knife- into the kitchen._

 _"One day, you and your accursed luck will be the death of us both, Jager."_

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

 _Jager must have been cursed as an infant._

 _It was the only thing that could possible explain the others rather 'Unique' luck in Bermuda's opinion._

 _"Jager," Bermuda spoke in a whisper as he vainly attempted to ignore the constant twitch his eye seemed to developed, "Your very existence is a Jinx."_

 _A heavy sigh left the six year old crouched next to him as small shoulders slumped inwards and emerald jewels looked anywhere but towards Bermuda himself, "I know."_

 _After all, how many other people went for a walk on a rather well known- and equally well traveled- Nature Trail only to accidently stumble across a Mothering Dragon who, by all rights, shouldn't even exist outside of Myths of Ancient Wonders, Heroic Legends of Old and Childish Fairytales?_ **  
**

The first time Jager meets Lsye Bechte, the emerald eyed child decides he doesn't like her- _and no, it had nothing to do with how she was draped over Bermuda like a spare cloak-_ despite her gentle smiles and kind nature.

There was just something about her that doesn't feel right- _something that had his stomach twisting in knots every time she smiled his way with warm chocolate eyes-_ let alone natural.

While Jager couldn't find the words he desired to explain the feeling, the emerald eyed child could say there was something about the other girl that reminds him too much of a mixture of Pig, Horse and Lord Veckenschtein to the point even the strange voice in the back of his mind warns him not to permit her his back- _Not to trust her._

So he doesn't- _Even if he has to tolerate her presence as he refused to leave Bermuda alone with her for any reason once so ever though none really questions it. It was well known he was Bermuda's extra shadow and the other servants kept granting him this strange pitying look or giggling every time one of them caught him glaring at the white haired girls back-_ After all, the voice had never led him astray before.

"Jager," Bermuda's soft voice interrupts his thoughts like a hot knife trough butter, "If you keep glaring like that she's going to simultaneously combust."

The emerald eyed child could feel his pale skin flush darkly in embarrassment at the elder's words. _Had he really been that obvious?_

"Yes. Is there something you wish to tell me, Jager?"

For a moment, the younger child contemplates answer but what would he say: _Sorry, I don't trust her because a voice in my head said not to?_ Right... He could already see the white jacket and the padded room waiting around the corner.

A frown twists upon Bermuda's face as soulless eyes narrow in both concern and caution, "A voice in your head?"

For not the first time, Jager ponders wither or not there's actually any truth to the rumors concerning His Master's ability to read minds. Maybe he should look into one of those tinfoil hats Pig once wore to keep out _'mind reading, brain devouring aliens'._

"For the last time Jager, I **cannot** read your mind."

 _Right_... Jager was willing to bet that was what all mind readers would claim if asked.

Bermuda could not help but face palm as an aspirated groan slipped through his lips. _He was going to kill whoever kept placing this 'mind reading' conspiracies into the younger's head._

* * *

If Bermuda was honest, he didn't like Lsye Bechte all that much.

Something about the blond haired girl reminded him too much of his Father yet he also knew their lives were short and most never lived to see twenty. So the eleven year old bared through their meetings- _gritting his teeth more times then not-_ with the constant reminder that he had brave through it; not for him but for Jager who never left his side.

 _Wither she realized it or not, Lsye owed the emerald eyed child her life otherwise she would be nothing but a corpse for how many times she invaded his personal space._

So Bermuda had to admit he was surprised when he caught sight of the younger child glaring death into the blonde's back with poisonous emerald eyes. _Huh, so Jager wasn't staying with him to ensure he didn't commit murder after all._

Honestly, it kind of disappointed the eleven year old Veckenschtein but those emotions were quickly swept away with the thought Jager would rather suffer with him then leave him to face this alone.

 _Still, he could not allow this to stand._

"Jager," The soulless eyed child speaks up softly observing as the other jerked slightly to attention at the sound of his voice, "If you keep glaring like that she's going to simultaneously combust."

 _Unfortunately it was a very real possibility considering he still hadn't fount a way to block Jager's access to his magic._

Though he would never admit it aloud, Bermuda finds the flush that appears on Jager's face at having been caught in the act utterly adorable. _Just as long as it was only directed at him that is._

 _Neither of them notice the chocolate eyes observing their every move nor the slight scowl that briefly twists upon what many would consider the face of an angel._

 _It would seem there were going to be some unforeseen complications to her plans after all._

* * *

Since she was but a toddler Lyse Bechte **_knew_ **she was destined to be Lady Veckenschtein as the Gift of Foresight had ran strong within her family.

She knew from an early age she would marry Bermuda von Veckenschtein, who would never truly come to love her but would complete his Duty to both Her and His Family. He would be her everything- _supplying for her and loving her enough to aid in her baring him three successful Heirs-_ yet her nothing at all. _Forever just out of her reach as he would keep his distance and throw himself into his work to avoid coming home to her._

 _Their romance would not be one of undying Love and Passion but of Duty and Honor._

She was okay with that though, she had fallen in love with the him of her visions therefore she would be capable of loving enough for the both of them.

It was her **Destiny**.

Or, at least, it used to be.

Something had happened- _something had change-_ leaving Her and Her Family blind to the future. Yet with what sparse pieces she could see, Lyse came to realize something:

 _Bermuda was **not** with her. _

_She was **not** Lady Veckenschtein. There was **no** Lady Veckenschtein. _

_She knew she had to fix it- to repair what had been broken- yet she could not find the problem. At least not until she stumbled across her Bermuda smiling in fond amusement at it._

 _The anomaly, the only that didn't belong._

 _For if nothing else, Lyse had memorized all the paths of the future and not in a single one of them did this 'Jager' exist._

 _Yet there he was:_

 _A small child with unnatural emerald eyes and face such a dark shade of crimson he resembled a lobster as Her Bermuda granted the anomaly a concerned look with soulless eyes full of warmth._

 _Honestly, she had not been aware Her Bermuda was capable of such a look but now that she knew, Lyse wanted nothing more than for it to be directed at her- for no doubt then it would prove he truly loved her- instead of the Third Class Servant._

 _She cannot help but scowl upon seeing the way Her Bermuda treats the Servant: His Loves hands lingering a bit too long to be anything but the touch of a Possessive Lover- never once did it cross her mind the touch could have been something else entirely- who did not wish to part from their Partner._

It would seem there were going to be some _'unforeseen'_ complications to her plans after all but that would not stop her. She would become Lady Veckenschtein no matter what tactic - _be it underhand or legit_ \- became necessary.

 _She **would** rid this world of the Anomaly and then..._

 _Then everything would go back to how it should be._

 _Everything would be perfect and she would marry the Love of her life- even if she knew he would never truly love her- and spend the rest of His Days with him until the Checkerface Creature would appear and steal Her One True Love away from her._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Rayakashi : **Not Quite. I intend to focus on the past for a bit before slowly moving towards the future/current Time Line. _

_**WolfGirl01** : Its not like Luck comes with an age restriction (No matter how much Bermuda and Jager wish it did)_

 **Chapter 6**

 _He adores Bermuda; idolizing and revering the older child as though he was a God amongst mankind._

 _Honestly, Jager knows its not healthy- he knows the Bermuda is no Saint or even close to Godly despite what their society would claim- but in his eyes it doesn't matter._

 _He ignores the obvious faults- turns deaf when the screams echo into the night- even as they all but dance before his eyes focusing instead upon the one who not only saved his Life countless times before but granted him reason and purpose to exist within this unforgiven world._

 _He's tempted to commit murder._

Bermuda could feel his scowl growing as he watched the blonde accidently- _If that was an honest to god accident he was a princess in a fluffy neon pink ball gown-_ knock her scolding hot soup onto Jager's lap- _the porcelain bowl shattering against the hardwood floor as small hands try and fail to catch it mid fall-_ while the younger was attempting to finish setting the table for The Head Chief; Mable.

"Tsk," the blonde's nose crunches up as cold eyes glare within Jager's direction- _who's now attempting to clean the mess off the floor while ignoring the state of his own clothes. Gods how many times has he told Jager not to pick up broken glass with his bare hands? -_ before her heel lashes out hitting the younger in the ribs causing the dark eyed thirteen year old's fork to break in his grip.

Snap! The fork- made of the finest silver- he was holding snapped into two pieces due to his grip but the harlot doesn't seem to notice as she raises her head so she's staring down her nose at the small dark haired child, "Useless Freak."

There's a slight flinch from the younger boy- _something one wouldn't have noticed had they not been looking closely which makes that ugly feeling with Bermuda's soul to rear its head at full strength-_ as the eight year old forces his way back onto his feet, " Why do you keep such a clumsy servant around, Bermuda Dear? He can't even set a table without making a mess-"

" _ **Jager**_ ," A sharp voice cuts her off mid word as the Dark Haired teen stands, "Come with me."

"But-" Inhuman eyes dart down towards the mess then back towards Bermuda himself though the thirteen year old ignores the gesture in favor of snapping out with a firm _'Listen and Obey Now'_ tone, " _ **Now**_."

After a moment of unnerving silence the emerald eyed child slowly stood and made his way over towards the older one- _cautious to stay just out of the Harlot's reach as small delicate hands fiddle with the filthy rag the other had been attempting to clean with-_ only to have it snatched out of his hands and thrown into the blonde's face.

"Its your mess." Bermuda speaks bluntly as soulless eyes glared into the blonde as though hoping his glare alone could kill, "Clean it up yourself. "

The younger of the two cannot help but blink in confusion- _ignoring the girl's sputtering-_ as his Lord grabs his wrist and drags him out of the dining hall and towards their room where the door is slammed shut and bolted shut in a matter of seconds before soulless eyes focus on him with a startling intensity, "Strip."

Despite his nervousness- _he had never Bermuda angry before and even if its not directed at him experience had taught the emerald eyed child that could quickly change with the right circumstances-_ Jager finds his hands are steady as he sets to work while Bermuda himself storms to their closest; tearing into it as he searches for something in the back.

"I'm going to _kill_ her."

Bermuda snarls as he carefully applies the burn ointment onto the bruised Lobster Red skin while already plotting assorted ways to keep the unnatural pale child outside long enough to gain a proper tan so to hide those ugly burns staining the skin.

"Bermuda," Jager speaks softly as Inhuman eyes glance anywhere but directly into the other's rage filled eyes, "It was probably an accident."

Despite permitting the words to slip past his lips, its obvious Jager doesn't believe them- _as his eyes still avoid the soulless void that was his Lord's own-_ and to be honest; neither does Bermuda. After all, The harlot- _that had intruded upon his home as though she belonged their and couldn't or outright wouldn't take a subtle clue to leave-_ had gone out of her way all week to make her hatred for Jager quite clear to the point even the servants had taken notice.

Then there was the _'accidents'_ the began to befall upon the younger child the moment that harlot had settled into his home.

Tainted food, would-be Muggers and Murderers, The Crystal Chandelier in the Greet Hall had hung for centuries- _the ropes being replaced every time they began to fray-_ almost crushing the child as he walked beneath it on his way to collect Bermuda's traveling cloak- _It was only a near miss due to Susan who took her job of watching the Young Master's favorite quite serious-_ scorpions and snakes in the cupboard Jager liked to hide inside when needing time alone, an almost 'accident' while taking a stroll with Bermuda himself...

Gods just this past week alone Bermuda felt as through he had fended off an army determined to kill the younger child yet when he had informed his Father- _hoping the man would actually do something about the issue-_ Lord Veckenschtein had insisted it sounded a lot like _'Unsavory Luck'_ and there was nothing he could do- _While Bermuda would confess, Jager had Ungodly Luck- most likely stolen from the Devil himself- but there was no way in Hell this was just unsavory Luck as Bermuda's instincts screamed at him of foul play and a perpetrator residing within his very home- w_ hich all but translated into the man's lack of care as Jager was neither His Son nor of First Class Standing. To him, Jager was expandable, another faceless body in a group of slave and servants expected to give up everything they had for those that were _'better'_ than them.

If Bermuda was honest, he **hated** it- _Hated how this whole society could overlook Laws, restrictions and Human Rights just to satisfy their need for Superiority_ \- as Jager was a lot of things but _'expandable'_ was not on that List. Yet there was nothing he could do about any of it; not yet, but what he could do was see to it there were no more _'accidents'_. That there would **never** be another chance for an _'accident'_.

* * *

A servant _\- a slave, a filthy lowlife who might as well have crawled out of a muddy ditch compared to herself-_ and Her Bermuda sides with it over her? Worst, he had thrown its filthy rag in her face! It's corruption must had spread further then she originally believed.

Unfortunately, ridding this world of the anomaly was harder than she had first believed as no matter what she attempted something always got in the way:  
She attempted to poison it only to find out Her Bermuda had taken it out to a Town Lunch moments before. Leaving her with piles of wasted food she couldn't shove down the Anomaly's throat without a proper reason.

She hired a thugs _\- lowlifes and murderers the lot of them-_ to ' _deal with' the issue'_ only to find her hired help had been _\- in a rather twisted sense of irony_ \- mugged and murdered in a back alleyway not even two streets from where she planned for the _'conversation'_ was meant to happen.

She tried to drop a Chandelier on him only for a redhead harlot to bodily tackle him out of the way causing it to miss her intended target and the intruder by a hair's width; leaving both with only scrapes and little cuts from the glass shards as they bounced on the marble flooring before settling.

She wanted to have him arrested but the Constable laughed in her face!

He didn't believe her- _though it shouldn't matter if he believed her or not, she was a First Class and the Accused a Third; it should have been an open shut execution-_ when she claimed the filth had assaulted her and when she pushed matters he had bluntly pointed out that the anomaly had been helping his wife with his three children at the time she claimed he _'assaulted'_ her.  
She attempted to convince Her Bermuda to get rid of him- _after all, no one accepted an incompetent servant_ \- only for him to side with it over her before throwing its filthy rag in her face and order her- _HER_!- to clean as though she was the slave and not the Freak he all but dragged into his bedroom. And now he was avoiding her while constantly keeping that abomination at his side.  
Lyse wants to scream- _she wants to shout and yell for the world to hear as its not fair. Bermuda was supposed to be Her's, Lady Veckenschtein was supposed to be Her's that Freak was not supposed to exist!-_ yet it did and everything she ever dreamed of- _always knew was her's and her's alone-_ was slipping through her fingers.

Yet she couldn't let it go; She refused. This was **Her** future- _not that Freak of Nature's-_ this was what would grant her hearts every desire. This was Her _'Happily Ever After_ ' and she **would** have it; one way or another.

The plan was simple- _so simple a toddler could understand it and couldn't possibly mess it up-_ She needed a child, but not just any child:

She needed Bermuda's child.

If she had his child growing within her womb, he would have no other choice but to marry her as to preserve both His and His Family's Honor. Though acquiring the child would be the difficult part since, as things stood at the moment; Bermuda refused to so much as enter the same room as her- _always leaving the moment she entered the same room as him while dragging the Anomaly alongside him-_ let alone accompany her to her bed.

Which meant she was going to have to find her way into his.

So she waited until the dead of night- _where the harvest moon was at its highest peak-_ before setting her plan into action. Finding Her Bermuda's room was easy- _it was impossible for her not to locate it seeing how many times she had watched her future self grace it and her husband with her presence-_ and by all rights everything should have been smooth sailing from there only...

If asked Lyse couldn't say what had gone wrong; she had fount her way into Her Bermuda's room- _into his bed-_ without waking the other and had just placed a chaise kiss to his lips when- _out of nowhere-_ a hand was suddenly tightly around her throat and she was bodily thrown across the room. It took her a moment to blink away her blurry vision and the darkness of the room only to realize the hand that had thrown her like a rag doll belonged to Her Bermuda- _who's eyes were a strange swirl of purple and orange instead of their usual Soulless Black-_ as he stormed towards her down form with bared teeth.

Confusion filled her being as she slowly blinked, _if that vengeful demon looking ready to tear her limb from limb was Her Bermuda; who was in the bed? Who had she kissed?_

 _If he was honest, Jager had no idea what had gotten into Bermuda. The elder had been perfectly fine when they had climbed into bed the night before but now..._

 _"Again!"_

 _"Bermuda, I have no more toothpaste."_

 _"Then use the Mouth Wash."_

 _"I don't have any of that left either."_

 _"Then use mine!"_

 _For some reason the other seemed to have become rather obsessed with Jager washing his mouth out and scrubbing his lips to the point the emerald eyed child swore the flesh would be stripped from them by pure force alone..._

 _If they didn't catch on fire first that is._

 _The emerald eyed child was cut from his thoughts as the soulless eyed teen all but shoved his own toothbrush down the younger's throat due to the elder's impatience causing the younger to start choking._

* * *

In Bermuda's opinion Murder was easy- _he had a natural talent for the sin that most grown men lacked-_ it was hiding the body that was difficult.

Everything had to be planned down to the smallest detail: How to get rid of the body, how to transport it without catching anyone's notice, the necessary clean up that followed the strugglers and fighters who seemed incapable of understanding blood stained and was a pain to clean up, proper disposal of any materials used in the clean up and the perfectly detailed story that aligned nothing but key facts and witnesses which- _if investigated_ \- would be proven to be the Truth.

Yes, compared to the Aftermath; Murder was easy but at least this time he had some aid.

"Perfect," The soulless eyed teen offered the eight year old Jager a warm smile as the other finished spreading a tarp across the basement floor, "Now the tarp is so the blood won't stain everywhere. It'll make clean up easier once we're finished disassembling the corpse."

Honesty, Bermuda knows he shouldn't be allowing Jager to be involved on his _'Hobby'_ but Bermuda knew he couldn't always be there to hide the bodies for the younger so it was better to teach the other child how to do so himself while he was young and his mind constantly absorbing information.

"Now the body type of the corpse will decided the blade you will use when dismembering it. Bodies like Ms. Harlot here have little to not muscle growth as they have other people who do everything for them; therefore a lighter butcher knife from any kitchen should do the trick," Bermuda spoke clearly as he picked up a knife from the table where he had dozen laid out and spin it between his fingers so inhuman eyes could see it from all angles,"but its the bones that you have to watch out for. Most usually just hack at them upon but I fount it you treat the corpse as one does a chicken its easier. In other words; First you need to disconnect the shoulder balls from their sockets, if you can manage it thought; break the joints as well. Like so-"

A loud crack filled the silent room followed by a muffled scream causing a frown to mar itself onto Bermuda's face as Soulless eyes glared down at the squirming _'corpse'_ , "Do you mind, Ms. Lyse; I'm trying to impart with wisdom here."

"Now," The Veckenschtein Heir chose to ignore the muffled noises as he glanced towards Jager who- despite his eyes darting towards the basement door- never moved, "Don't worry, the room's soundproof. " _After all, his Father wouldn't want anyone coming downstairs during his rituals due to the sacrifice's screams._ "As you can see, the limb hangs limply connected only to the shoulder by skin, muscles, tendons and possibly a few veins as well. _We're going to sever them."_

The older child spoke bluntly as he lifted his knife for the other to examine, "Which is why you always want a sharp blade with a bit of weight to it. Flimsy, lightweights won't get you far in this and will make a bigger mess then necessary."

 _The a glint of light reflected upon the blade as Bermuda brings it down without a moments hesitation._

He _doesn't think he'll ever be able to eat ribs again, Jager decides later that day as he watches Detective Schmidt- a young man with a head of brown hair hired by Lord Bechte to locate his missing daughter- licked the barbeque sauce from his fingers before granting Bermuda a satisfied smile," That was rather delicious Son, I don't suppose you care to share your recipe?"_

 _The older child just offer a mystic smile with satisfaction clear in his eyes, "Sorry. Family Secret."_

 _Jager just keeps His Silence as he allows Bermuda to pull him to his feet._

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

 _Jager was like the Sun on a Cloudy day._

 _Full of warmth and comfort that made even the harshest of Souls desire to relax within the safety of his presence to the point everyone knew he was there but none ever saw him as a threat._

 _In Bermuda's opinion, they were foolishly blind._

 _For while he would confess Jager was like the sun, most people tended to forget that the same warmth that kept them safe and comfortable could just as easily scorch them into ashes should they accidently drift too close to the source._

 _Impossible, Bermuda swiftly learned, didn't exist when Jager was involved within the equation._

"Please," Bermuda spoke _\- resisting the urge to bang his head against the nearest wall as reality once more pulled itself out from beneath his feet-_ as slender fingers pinched the bridge of his nose, "Tell me that is not a Cerberus."

"It is not a Cerberus," Jager repeated in a monotone- _the younger's grip tightening slightly on the three headed puppy he was clutching firmly to his chest_ -while three separate heads- _residing upon the same body_ \- gnawed upon the arm wrapped securely around their waist.

"Oh, then what would you call it?"

"A puppy," Jager spoke as though it was the most obvious thing in the world while granting the other a concerned look.

"It has three heads," The soulless eye teen deadpanned as his fingers twitched slightly at his sides. Surely he wasn't the only person who noticed that...Right?

"Fine," the emerald eyed child huffed with a sullen- _yet determined in a way Bermuda could place anywhere-_ gleam to his unnatural eyes, "Its a mutated puppy."

"You're not keeping it."

 _Oh yes, he knows that look in Jager's inhuman eyes. It was the same pleading look the younger had granted him while begging to keep the dragons- living, breathing and so obviously not a myth or Legend- they had stumbled across while on a hike together._

"But-"

"No."

"I-"

"Have no responsibility towards this creature."

"We can't just leave Them in the rain."

"Sure we can," Bermuda spoke bluntly granting the younger a stern look, "Put it down and I'll show you how."

There was a nice cliff just a few feet away from them and it wouldn't be all that hard to punt the _'Hound of Hades'_ back to Hades himself once the younger child stopped clinging to it like a lifeline. As though the younger could read his mind, Jager's grip tightened as wide inhuman eyes stared at him- _silently judging actions he had yet to even commit-_ with unrelenting horror, "You can't kick a puppy Bermuda! Especially one left out in the rain!"

And to think, The younger was always accusing _him_ of being a mind reader.

Silence befell the two as soulless eyes stared blankly upon the child who _-not even a month ago-_ watched his butcher a twelve year old alive and then feed her remains to the Lead Detective involved in her case without so much as saying a word.

"Really?" Disbelief colored the elder's tone as he stared the younger down- _Of all the things for Jager to develop a conscious over it wouldn't be Human Life; oh no, that would be far too simple wouldn't it?; instead it had to be Mythical Creatures that didn't seem to realize they were only supposed to exist oupside of Legends and Child Stories-_ only for confused inhuman eyes to stare back at him, "What?"

 _Was there something on his face?_

* * *

 _"Shrink."_

 _"Lord Bermuda?"_

 _Jager granted the older child a confused glance causing soulless black eyes to narrow._

 _"Jager, you're supposed to stay shorter than me not suddenly sprout upwards like a beanstalk."_

 _Ah, a sense of amused understanding filled the taller of the two as the ten year old resisted the urge to chuckle at his pouting Lord, " My apologizes Lord Bermuda, but I'm afraid it doesn't work that way."_

 _"Then make it work."_

 _"I cannot," Jager admitted with a slight shrug of his shoulders, "Though maybe had you actually drunk your milk instead of swapping your full glass with my empty one, you would have grown as well."_

 _Much to Bermuda's delight he eventually reaches a height of five foot nine. Jager on the other hand doesn't stop growing until he's seven foot three._

 _After a week of solid thought-no matter what Jager would claim he was not sulking- Bermuda decides to be the bigger man and blames magic instead of genetics. After all, there's no way in Heaven, Hell or Earth Jager could naturally be taller than him._

 _"_ I don't want it. "

He's being childish, Jager knows that.

He's ten now; therefore he's supposed to act mature as the inhuman eyed child is already a quarter way into his grave- _lives are short in this time, the oldest anyone seems to live to be is thirty-_ but he doesn't care. He does not want that ' _Gift_ ' anywhere near his home let alone Bermuda.

"Jager," his Lord gives a soft sigh at the stubborn reminder no matter how ' _socially acceptable'_ the younger shaped up to be- _at least outside the walls of Veckenschtein Manor-_ Jager was still a child and like all children didn't take well to new arrivals within their household.

"My Lord, please send it back. We don't need it, I can handle anything that should arise here by myself."

"Him, Jager not it." _It was rude to call someone an 'it' and he refused to permit Jager to fall to such a degree the younger child would become another blank face within the crowd of imbeciles that crafted their society_ , " His name is Jack and I'm keeping him."

The taller of the two looks as though he's swallowed a bitter lemon at the soulless eye teen's ' _I will not hear another word on this matter so do as I say_ ' tone causing the younger to lower his head slightly- _his shoulder length hair to tumble into his face as to curtain his resentful eyes-_ in a sense of respectful acceptance, "Yes Lord Bermuda. "

If Bermuda hears the profound sense of bitterness clinging to the younger's voice he's says nothing concerning the matter. After all, while he's spent years installing a sense of confidence and self worth within the younger child Jager is still a Third Class and therefore has no voice- _no opinion. Don't get him wrong Bermuda valued Jager's opinion and would always take it in consideration. It just didn't matter in the end if his own opinion went against it-_ to be weighted within the final decision of the matter.

The redhead staying half a step behind Bermuda can't help but shift uneasily as inhuman emerald eyes all but glare into his soul- _for a moment the rouge swears those unnatural eyes flash a shade of purple with swirls of gold_ \- when the dark haired teenager he followed orders the taller to show him to a bedroom.

"Yes Lord Bermuda." The taller of the two keep his head low as his eyes drift from his rouge and onto Bermuda's back- _mentally begging the other to have another rapid change of mind the younger knows won't come-_ as the elder helds for the door.

" And Jager," the soulless eyed teen stops in the doorway as though just recalling something, "I expect this one to actually make it to his room alive and to stay within such condition."

 _Had he not known better, Jack would have sworn his fellow First Class had just asked this 'Jaeger' to peel off his own face with a rusty nail considering the tallers's twisted expression._

* * *

 _"I don't like him."_

 _"You didn't like my Father either Jaeger. "_

 _"And for good reason," the younger of the two couldn't help but huff as Bermuda snuggled into his side, "Your Father was insane."_

 _The man was as mad as a Hatter when it came to both magic and possessing something called 'SoulFire'._

 _To be honest Jager didn't know that much about the later- and only a pinch more about the former- just that a person with SoulFire would die if it's removed, it came in seven different shades and each shade did something unique._

 _Oh, and there's some sort of 'Dark Arts' Ritual that permits the caster to rip the SoulFire out of others and absorb it that even those without magic can preform._

 _What?_

 _At least he understood some of Lord Veckenschtein's monologue- while he's on the subject, he needed to make a mental reminder never to monologue like some B Class villain as it tends to screw you and your 'diabolical' plans over- while attempting to find a way out of the situation alive._

 _"I dealt with **That** issue," Bermuda spoke softly without a hint or regret in his voice, "I'll do the same here if it comes down to it."_

 _His Father really should have known better than to place him in a situation where he had to chose- the man had always seemed a bit blind to what his Heir hide beneath his mask but Bermuda had never believed he was that blind-_ _let alone place the ritual_ _dagger within his hands._

 _His Fathervcreally knew him, otherwise the man wouldn't have looked at him with those wide shocked eyes when Bermuda sunk the blade hilt deep into the elder's chest cavity._

If Jager is honest he doesn't like long hair- _it's annoyingly frustrating to deal with and care for compared to short hair-_ but he keeps it shoulder length to please Bermuda- ' _It's a sign of Social Status. Long hair means a person is important while short means they're expandable'_ -though it doesn't stop him from trying to tear it out at the roots when frustrated.

 **Smack**!

Jager quickly pulled back his hands- _ignoring the burn and slight discoloration of his fingers_ \- as soulless eyes granted his a disapproving look and a scowl twisted onto Bermuda's face, "I told you to stop pulling at your hair."

"My apologizes, " the younger child mumbled softly as the elder teen sighed softly while gentle hands attempted to smooth out the birds nest he had created.

"Don't apologize unless you mean it Jager."

"I do-"

"No," the soulless eyed teen cuts off the younger with a firm look, "If you meant it, you wouldn't keep doing it." _Sometimes Bermuda wonders if this is what it's like to raise a child- always having to watch and correct them at every slip up before explaining things they do not yet understand- instead of a companion_ , "If you apologize yet keep committing the same act you apologized for it makes your apology Hollow, Jager. No one wants a hollow apology."

There's a thoughtful gleam within the younger's inhuman eyes as he seems to think over Bermuda's word before giving a firm nod, "I understand. It will not happen again."

"I hope so," Bermuda mumbles softly as he finished smoothing the mess Jager had made of himself- _Otherwise he was going to have to start breaking finger until that bad habit was ruthlessly crushed under-heel -_ before taking a step back and raising a brow, "Why are you in such a frustrated mood this earlier anyways?"

 _Usually Jager wasn't this frustrated until after Bermuda dealt with the Council's vain attempts at convincing him to accept a Broodmare -of their choice as Bermuda refused to choose one- for a Life Partner so to pass on his Bloodline- What part of 'I'm not interested' was so difficult to understand?- while constantly referring to the emerald eyed child as his 'Inamorato'._

 _"_ Jack," the name slips past Jagers teeth like a hiss of the foulest of words as the taller fingers twitch slightly at his sides- _as though barely resisting the urge to strangle someone; most likely with blood red hair-_ then and there.

"Oh? And what did Jack do this time?"

 _Honestly Jager would find fault with how the rouge breathed if he could._

Emerald eyes narrowed though the younger could read his mind- _it wouldn't surprise Bermuda if the younger actually could_ \- before the taller of the two let out annoyed huff, "Go look for yourself."

 _It wasn't something he could explain with words anyway._

 _For a moment all Bermuda can do is stare-soulless eyes seeing but not quite believing- blankly at the Warzone that was once his kitchen before him._

 _"Is that-"_

 _He begins to ask only to but cut off midword by Jager, "Yes."_

 _"How-"_

 _"He touched it."_

 _Slowly the older turns his head towards the emerald eyed child next to him, "Touched it?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"And nothing else?"_

 _"Nothing else."_

 _As one both children turn their heads back to the scene before them, listening to the rouge curse up a colorful storm while all the while attempting to keep the Skeletal Goul like creature he had accidentally awoken in the basement- Why did they even have one of these things down there?!-_ _from sinking it's dagger like teeth into him._

 _"Should we do something?"_

 _After all, even if the creature hadn't been alive when they last saw it, it was their's or rather the remains of His Father after the man's blood hit the ritual circle._

 _"My Lord," Jager speaks solemnly as he meets the others eyes head on, "Not even God himself could convince me to get involved in whatever that madness is."_

 _Jack woke it and therefore- as far as Jager was concerned- it was his problem. Just like the bloody chimera the rouge had locked in the storage closet._


	6. Chapter 6

_**Diamond** : I've been considering the options but I don't believe Jaeger will attend Dumstrung- Germany was founded Jan 18, 1871, so I do believe its still the Holy Roman Empire as its dissolution wasn't complete until 1806.- as for now they only accept First and Second Class Purebloods._

 _Everything else will be up to Bermuda to decided though do keep in mind this was a time period when anyone even considered practicing witchcraft was either imprisoned or killed._

 _You're right. Chocolate wasn't discovered until the early 1600s... Oops, seems I've set things Five Hundred years ahead of schedule. Unless you count the Mayans and Aztec who lived on the islands the Cocoa beans were native to and therefore had access to them before the 1400s; so to better fit with the timeline I could make it so the beans were lost overseas and somehow found their way to that river Bermuda pulled Jaeger out of- Though that means they would have to be rare- Aztecs would have likely only carried a little deerskin pouch of the beans and it would take time and effort to expand what little they found- highly expensive and only for those of First Class._

 _As for Allergies They where discovered in 1819 so they really don't belong in this timeline and Unlike Cocoa Beans, I can't very well the reason they existence... Opps. Thank you for pointing that out though and I'll try not to let the timelines mix though it may slip by me like it did here._

 _Unfortunately, that's just my writing style... I'll take a look into the story and try to curb the issue._

 _Ah, I understand how the 'soulless' and 'Soulless' can Confuse you but that's not a mistake there. It's something you'll discover later on in the story. Sorry, I tend to forget no one else has my notes and therefore cannot tell where I'm going with the story at times._

 _As long as it's concerning to the story- and not an unwanted Troll with too much time on their hands and family/friend/ or social issues looking to ruin someone's day- all feedback is welcomed. Otherwise, how would the authors know when someone is confused or how to improve their efforts._

 _ **Guest** : Soon._

 _ **Snarza** : Don't worry, Bermuda unnerves a lot of people._

 **Chapter 8**

 _Was this a joke?_

 _Golden eyes narrowed slightly at the cursive writing on the parchment envelope. What in the Seven Hells was a 'Hogwarts' and why was it named after a pig?_

"I didn't know Third Class Servants could read."

Jager could feel his shoulders stiffen slightly as fingers tightened slightly around the parchment as the Menace's voice from the bedroom doorway, "Have you never heard of knocking?"

Much to his own surprise, Jager finds his voice calm and level- _soothing even despite the fact he had just been caught breaking one of many laws by a Second Class Heir-_ as slender fingers carefully folded the parchment once more before shoving it back into the unsealed envelope

"I asked first. "

"I don't see how that is any concern of yours. "

"Seeing as it illegal I believe it would be best you explain yourself least all other options least they find themselves discarded in favor of informing your Lord."

Jager could feel the scowl twisting onto his lips as emerald eyes narrowed in an unspoken challenge, "Do what you must, though be sure to inform My Lord how you waltz into his room without so much as knocking beforehand."

 **"Idiot!** You're not supposed to say that," It was strange watching the disbelief and fury twist onto the rouge's face as he stormed deeper into the room- _a part of Jager wondered whether to take this as an insult or pure stupidity on the menace's behalf-_ as a deep scowl twisted into existence, "Do you know what they would do if anyone found out you actually had a working brain in that thick skull of yours instead of being another mindless puppet waiting for orders?!"

"Just looking at parchment with silly symbols on it does not equal reading, Jack."

"You weren't just looking," The rouge's scowl deepened as crimson eyes narrowed in challenge, "I saw the way your eyes were moving and then there's the fact that even if it wasn't vocal, you're lips were sounding out words."

Jager just scoffed as he shook his head causing dark strands of hair to fall into his face, "You're imagining things. "

"I know what I saw," Frustration colored Jack's tone as his pale hands twitched violently at his side with the barely concealed urge to reach over and strangle the emerald-eyed child.

"Then may I be so bold to suggest you get your eyes checked as they are obviously failing you."

Not for the first time since they've met had, Jack found himself barely resisting the urge to lunge across the already sparse space between himself and Jager to outright strangle the dark-haired servant. Honestly, the first time Jack had to meet the younger, the rouge had found the emerald-eyed child to be pretty- _tall and slender with slightly feminine features and those unique emerald eyes that seemed to know everything about the unfortunate soul beneath their gaze_ \- and then the child had _talked_.

The rouge doesn't have a clue as to what he did to make the emerald-eyed child to loathe his very existence but Jack felt as though he had a good idea on what the issue was- _especially when the younger's emerald eyes would change into a mash of violet and gold that anyone within Second or First Class would know to be clear indications of SoulFire_ \- and how to properly deal with the issue though it would take time and effort.

Thankfully he had plenty of both... _If Jager didn't tear out his throat first that is._

One could never be too careful with a Cloud- _as those with that shade of purple in their SoulFire had recently been labeled as-_ especially a Cloudy Sun who already had a Soul Bond to the Element the redhead was attempting to forge his own Soul Bond with.

 _Even if he could have, Bermuda wouldn't have bothered to hide the scowl that twisted onto his face upon reading the 'invitation' meant for Jager._

 _Did they think him a fool?_

 _In this day and age, a school for magic was little more than a slaughterhouse waiting to happen and even if they could protect their students on school grounds what was to protect them when they were forced to come home? Who was to prevent others from becoming suspicious about a child disappearing for most of the year?_  
 _Who was to keep the priest- who Bermuda knew was aware of the Magical's hidden communities due to being born without the 'curse' despite his whole family being 'tainted'- from piecing the puzzle together and burning the younger child at a stake?_

 _"You're not going."_

 _He wouldn't permit it. If Jaeger truly sought to learn magic they would find another- a safe and subtle- way of doing so. Without a second thought, the dark-eyed teenager crumpled the letter before flickering it into the fire within the hearth._

 _"Yes, Bermuda."_

 **Thud!**

If there was a reward for looking like a giant bruise, Jaeger was certain he would have won First Place as he found himself thrown onto the harsh wooden floor once more.

"You've improved," Bermuda commented as he straightened himself out, "But you're still pathetic at fighting. Had I taken this seriously you would have suffered through more than just a couple of aches and bruise."

Though Jaeger knows they weren't spoken out of ill intention but rather Bermuda's blunt- _'crush your soul and dreams'-_ honestly, the words sting in a way a blade could never hope to achieve. _Still_...

"Then stop playing around," Jaeger all but demands as he pushes himself back onto his feet, "and take me seriously. "

Silence consumed the room swifter than any shadows could ever hope to as soulless orbs glance away from where they had been staring out the window and lock onto him with an unwavering intensity, "Do you know what you're asking for?"

A part of him wants to say _'no'- to take back his demand and walk away while he had a chance-_ but he's nothing if not stubborn.

"I do."

For a moment, neither of them dare to speak as golden orbs stayed firmly on the soulless one's across the room, "...Very well. Susan, go fetch the best healer the town has."

"My Lord, you can't mean-"

"Jaeger is old enough to make his own choices," Bermuda interrupted before the maid could continue her protest, "Therefore he's old enough to deal with the consequences of his choices."

"...Yes, My Lord."

 _The redhead barely makes it out of the room before a loud sickeningly crack fills the air causing her to quicken her pace into a rather brisk walk in an effort to reach the Town Healer sooner rather than later._

If asked, the best way Jaeger could think to describe Bermuda's fighting style was: _Fast_.

One moment he had been watching Susan- _who seemed paler than normal-_ rush out of the room as though she had the Hounds on Hades on her heels and the next he was barely managing to throw an arm up to protect his head from a leg only for a sickening **crack** to fill the room. Honestly, the emerald-eyed child wasn't sure what happened- _he didn't even see Bermuda move_ \- but all he knew was that he had to keep moving- _to keep trying to find an opening-_ because to stop wasn't an option; not unless he wanted to commit assisted suicide.

Swiftly dropping to the ground, Jaeger found himself barely missing a hit which cracked the wall behind him before his leg lashed out in an attempting to sweep Bermuda's feet out from beneath him. Only to realize he had a miscalculation as the corner of Bermuda's lip twisted upwards in a smile that was more teeth than an actually smile before the other jumped over his leg-

 **CRACK!**

For a moment all he can see is the white flare of pain flashing behind his eyes, but Jaeger swiftly pushes it down- _He has to move, he needs to put space between them-_ yet it's already too late.

"You lose," Bermuda's voice- _as icy as the Arctic itself-_ rings throughout the silent room only moments before another sickening **Crack** fills the air.

 _Despite what Bermuda would claim about paperwork, Bedrest- in Jaeger's opinion- was the Source of all Evil. Especially when he was the one confined to the bed for the next 'twenty-one day cycles' with absolutely nothing to do._

 _"Jaeger, don't take this personally but I think there's something wrong with your head."_

 _"What's that supposed to mean?" The emerald eye child questioned as he glared death at the rouge who refused to eject himself from his and Bermuda's lives._

 _"Hear me out," Jack spoke swiftly as he held up his hands in mock surrender, "You just got released from bedrest after a fight with Bermuda led to two broken limbs and the other two being broken as a penalty for losing, correct?"_

 _"...Yes."_

 _"And now you want to fight Bermuda again."_

 _"What of it?"_

 _…_

 _"...You honestly don't see the issue, do you?" Jack deadpanned causing emerald eyes to blink slowly in obvious confusion._

 _"What issue?"_

* * *

He's twelve the first time Jaeger witnesses a _'Festival'_ firsthand.

In the beginning it had seemed like every other event: _A sea of bodies crowded onto a cobblestone street as far as the eye could see, The countless stalls- ranging from food to games- opened side by side at every corner in attempts to sell their merchandise at a 'discount', the laughter of children as they rushed about in play._

To be honest, the emerald-eyed child doesn't really pay much attention to the events going on around him as he's too busy watching Bermuda- _sticking to the other's side like an extra shadow on the ground. He had promised after all-_ while the elder nimbly slipped through the crowds and towards the center of the Town's Square where the Main Attraction was said to be.

For a brief moment, Jaeger permits his mind to wonder what sort of attraction could draw so many people together- _He had never been to a Festival before as Bermuda had forbidden it to the point he wouldn't even permit the other servants to breathe a word of the matter to the younger_ \- and then he sees it. In the center of the Town Square are three wooden poles surrounded by bundles of twigs and hay though more importantly than that:

 _There are children- the youngest looking to only be six summers while the oldest looked no more than thirteen- all but chained to the poles._

Jaeger finds his feet moving before his mind has even realized it made a decision- _He has to get them down. He has to get them down **Now** -_ but a firm grip on his wrist stops him before he can even take two steps. The younger child could feel the confusion settling in his bones even as emerald eyes glance backward only to find soulless eyes granting him a firm look before the elder silently shook his head.

Its an unspoken order- _a part of the younger child is aware of that-_ but for the first time since he had met Bermuda; Jaeger found himself conflicted on wither or not to obey. It must show for Bermuda just tightens his grip before speaking in a soft voice, "Jaeger, if you go up there; you'll be leaving my side."

 _And suddenly the promise Bermuda had extracted from him before permitting him to leave the house no longer seemed as 'cautious' as it did before-_

"You knew this was going to happen."

"Yes."

"They're going to kill them."

"I know."

 _-Instead, it left the other with the feeling of someone twisting his heart despite the fact it was still in his chest._

"I don't want to see this."

"I know," Bermuda admits. To be honest he didn't want to see this either- _he never enjoyed being forced to stand by and watch children die for another's superstition-_ unfortunately...,"You need to though. "

 _Some lessons had to be taught the hard way for them to be learned._

 _The emerald-eyed child would spend the next week unable to achieve so much as a wink of sleep. For every time he closed his eyes, Jaeger could feel the heat brushing against his skin as echoes the children's final screams and the Pastor's words about fulfilling 'God's Divine Justice'- Justice? Don't make him laugh. That was nothing short of a slaughter of innocence- rang throughout his mind._

* * *

 _He hates them,_ Jaeger decides as sharp emerald eyes all but glared at the pearly parchment with Susan's grip: _Unnaturally white envelope, golden seal, elegant cursive writing..._

Joy, **another** Marriage Contract.

Honestly, one would believe the First and Second Class Lord's of their society would really have something better to do than constantly harassing a teenager in rather vain attempts to marry him off to their Daughter. Bermuda must have shared sediments as the dark-haired teenager sighs softly while he continues writing the polite rejection letters for the other _'offerings'_ , "Throw it with the rest, Susan."

"My Lord, While I would find great pleasure in helping keep the hearth warm..." the redhead seems hesitant as she nervously nibbled on the corner of her lip before forcing herself to speak, "I'm afraid this Marriage Contract isn't for you."

 _Wait..._

 **"What?"** Two voices questioned in unison as confusion colored their matching tones. After all, the only Marriage Contracts they ever received around was always reserved solely for the newly appointed- _and unwed- 'Lord Veckenschtein_ ' so...

 _If the marriage wasn't for Bermuda then who was it for?_

The silence seemed to stretch on forever before Bermuda finally set down his quill and reached a free hand outwards Susan, "Let me see that."

To be honest, its the first time Jaeger has ever seen the older servant ever so hesitant to obey a direct ordering making him ponder whether or not the thing was some sort of threat towards the soulless eyed teen; though the rouge servants hesitation was nothing compared to the thick tension that consumed the room and only grew the more Bermuda read whatever was on the parchment. After what felt like a lifetime, the papers were gently set onto the desktop where dark, soulless eyes attempted to set them ablaze through a glare alone.

No one really wants to speak _\- as none who had experienced it wished to draw their Lord's ire_ \- but curiosity- _and a lack of fear when it concerned the elder_ \- had always been one of Jaeger's main flaws so its no real surprise when he finally locates his voice, "Bermuda-"

The word is barely out of his mouth before he finds the parchment shoved into his face, "It's for you."

Even though he knows the words and what they mean; they sound foreign as they fall from Bermuda's lip. He could accept a marriage proposal for Bermuda- _the elder teen was practically an angel in the younger's mind_ \- but one for him?

 _Why would anyone want to marry him?_

"You should accept," Bermuda's voice cut through his thoughts like a hot knife through butter and much to Jaeger's confusion, the moment Bermuda speaks those words it feels as though someone had just plunged a smoldering hot knife repeatedly through the heart inside his chest.

The feeling only gets worse as Bermuda keeps talking about ' _advantages'- A Second Class purposing to a Third Class was almost completely unheard of and considered rather unorthodox. Yet, even Bermuda had to admit, it was an opportunity. If Jaeger married a Second Class Heir he would automatically be considered a Second Class himself as women were forbidden from inheriting unless married and when you married everything they were and owned became their husbands-_ though its nothing compared to the feeling of having his heart be shredded from the inside out at the other's pleasant:

"You should be happy, Jaeger. This is your way out."

Strangely enough, at that moment; happiness is the **_furthest_ **thing from what he feels. If anything he feels as though he's sinking an abyss; the darkness consuming his vision and despite his best effect he can't breathe even as Bermuda offers him one of those rare- _small yet honest_ \- smiles.

 _There is no real transition: One moment he had been silently suffocating as he stared into Bermuda's smiling face and the next he found himself lying on his back in a familiar bed staring up at the ceiling while faint moonlight illuminated the bedroom._

 _A dream, His mind whispers even as his hand clutches firmly at the cloth above his heart, It was just a Nightmare. Taking a deep breath, the golden-eyed preteen tried to calm his racing heart as he rolled onto his side and snuggled into the body sleeping soundly next to his own for comfort._

 _"Just a Nightmare," He mumbles softly to himself._

 _A horrid, unspeakable Nightmare._

* * *

 _Jack, in Jaeger's opinion, was a Nightmare to live with._

 _Every morning it was a different routine yet somehow it always held an underline feeling of reality shattering disbelief that never failed to leave the golden-eyed pre-teen with a never-ending headache._

 _Honestly, would it kill the other to go one day- just twenty-four hours. Nothing more nothing less- without causing some otherworldly disaster?_

 _Unfortunately that day wouldn't be today, Jaeger realized as two sets of eyes watched in horror while a vail- the rouge insisted was some sort of 'Spiritual Potion'- shattered on the hard, wooden floor between them._

If Bermuda was honest, he was aware of the _'little issue'_ between Jack and Jaeger- _It was near impossible not to be when the two couldn't spend five minutes alone in a room without attempting to murder one another-_ but he had firmly resolved not to interfere with the matter. _Wither they like each other or not His SoulFire had chosen them as His so they would have to learn to tolerate each other._

Unfortunately for that idea...

 _Fate Hated him,_ Bermuda decided as he stared upon the ruins that had once been his Study or more specifically the large black panther sitting on top of the only desk not toppled over with a sense of guilt shinning within sharp golden eyes.

Though it should be impossible, Bermuda couldn't help but feel as though he's seen that look before.

"Jaeger?" He questions skeptically through the doubts soon vanish as the creature's expression becomes even guiltier only moments before the dark mass swiftly darts across his room to hide beneath his bed with a soft, drawn out whine.

 _Oh yes,_ Bermuda grumbles to himself as he crouches down to glance beneath his bed, _he knows that expression._

"Jaeger, What did you do?"

The massive creature of stealth and death whined softly as it rested its head on its frontal paws. For a moment, Bermuda finds himself reminded of a kicked puppy begging to be carried out of the rain before he recalls something else, "Jaeger, where's Jack?"

Silence is his only answer as sharp golden eyes- _so satisfied yet so guilty_ \- glanced anywhere but towards the soulless eyed teenager causing his frown to deepen, "Jaeger," He repeats the other's name once more; his tone making it clear he would not ask a third time.

Slowly, golden eyes stared upon the elder before purposely darting towards the ceiling as Bermuda's own eyes follow only to find himself staring at a large rouge bird with crimson eyes with ruffled feathers trying to preen what few tailfeathers it had left.

Bermuda blinks once, twice, then thrice before his mind registers what he's seeing, **"Did you try eating him?!"**

Once more those golden eyes seem to find a rather unnatural interest in the floor beneath its paws as it let out a soft huff causing rouge feathers to spew from its mouth. A moment later, the creature powerful mouth snapped shut as it realized its actions where all but damning itself before sulking further beneath the elder's bed... _Alright, so maybe it was time for him to intervene in this 'Little Issue' between the two before it somehow managed to get even more out of hand then it obviously already was._

 _Seeing as Bermuda lacked any true experience with Potion Making- let alone had a clue as to what had been inside the vail he located and dubbed the source of the issue- Jaeger and Jack found themselves having to wait two long weeks for the potion to wear off._

 _Unfortunately, while they did gain their original- human- bodies once more; not all 'side effects' faded for Jaeger who found his once emerald eyes had stayed the sharp, unnatural golden shade of his 'Spirit Animal'._

 _To be honest, while the now golden eyed pre-teen enjoyed watching Jack squirm beneath his Lord's gaze as rouge tried to explain the 'complication' to Bermuda; another part- a part he would never voice even under penalty of the most agonizing death- was silently grateful for the accident._

 _After all, while he had loved the emerald shade of his natural eyes; Jaeger had dreaded informing Bermuda his vision was slowly but surely being completely eradicated with time- as it was he had barely been capable of seeing anything more than three feet in front of his face and even then everything had been more of a shapeless blur than anything- but now... Now, thanks to Jack's little accident, he no longer hands to be concerned about concealing the issue from Bermuda so the other wouldn't have to worry over him even more than the elder already did._


End file.
